As the Year 7 Geography classes have been learning about water and the water cycle, we hosted Gene Gardiner, from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA,) and environmental educator, Debbie Dalziel, to help the students understand their local catchment system. Students learnt that Curdies catchment area takes in Power Creek around Timboon with the main Curdies catchment near Purrumbete, Jancourt with a subcatchment into Scott’s Creek, Cooriemungle Creek and other local tributaries. We live in a heavy rainfall area with lots of hills and gullies and these interconnected waterways were placed under pressure from erosion and nutrient transfer when the Heytesbury settlement was cleared for farming during the 1940s - 1980s. Gene and Debbie outlined that the recent blue green algae bloom at the Curdies River in Peterborough was linked to fish kills and was caused by the diffuse phosphorus load in the catchment that came from no single source, but many areas in the catchment. As nutrients in the waterways tell us about the health of the waterways, students tested three water samples to determine the saltiest, the most dissolved oxygen and the most phosphorous: a dam in Brucknell, the Boggy Creek and the boat ramp at Peterborough. The main messages were that we need to be conscious of what may end up in waterways and should plant trees, provide habitat for fish, prevent erosion, restrict or apply fertilizer well before rain events and restrict stock access to waterways as we are all part of the solution to protect the river’s health. Gene left us with a message that the best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago and the second best is today. Comments are closed.
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April 2024
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